FL-25: Co-Host Joe Garcia Event in New York/Netroots!

Please visit the Act Blue Page and tell Diaz-Balart what you think of his attacks.


On April 21st (next Monday!), Joe Garcia will be attending an event with Rep. Charlie Rangel in New York. Joe’s opponent, Bush rubberstamp Mario Diaz-Balart is trying to divide the South Florida community with the event, calling Joe and Rep. Rangel “left-wing extremists.” This of course is sticking with the Diaz-Balart campaign theme. When Joe announced his campaign, he was called a “Castro-sympathizer” and Diaz- Balart said Joe’s run was an attempt “to overthrow him from Congress.” Except the facts are that Joe has been standing up for Democracy in Cuba his entire life and he opposes the Bush/Diaz-Balart restrictions on travel and family remittances, which have taken power away from the Cuban people.

Mario Diaz-Balart on the other hand has made hypocritical attacks. He’s taken over $80,000 in campaign contributions from special interests and PACs with ties to the Cuban government, many of them who have lobbied against the embargo. At the same time Diaz-Balart continues to call powerful members of Congress “communists,” partisan rhetoric that makes it difficult to get anything done for the 25th district. This is part of the reason the district ranks 407th out of 435 in the US in terms of performance from their representative, even though it’s one of the poorest districts in the nation and could use significant help from the government.

Help fight back against Diaz-Balart’s rediculous hyprocrisy and red- baiting by co-hosting Joe Garcia’s event in New York. Together we can show that we support a politics that rejects special interest groups and embrace one that moves the country forward on combating challenges like protecting the Everglades and taking on climate change, expanding health care coverage to all, and bringing a responsible end to the war in Iraq.

Help get the fundraiser off to a start at the Act Blue Page with even a $5 or $10 contribution, really that’s all it takes! If Republicans are going to use misleading and McCarthist attacks, we need to show our numbers and make them pay for it, every single time.

There will also likely be a virtual event, either a live-blog or townhall, with Joe Garcia before or after the event on Monday, so we truely will be co-hosting!

Thank you for your support!

NM-Sen: Udall Outraises Pearce, Wilson Combined AGAIN

Crossposted at New Mexico FBIHOP

Hat tip to Heath Haussamen

For the second quarter in a row, Tom Udall outraised both Republican candidates — combined.  The $1.3 million he raised Tom Udallin the first quarter was about $350,000 more than the $943,000 the Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce campaigns raised combined.

I wrote his fundraising success in the fourth quarter of 2007 was astonishing.  To do so two quarters in a row is beyond astonishing.  It shows that Udall clearly has more momentum than either Pearce or Wilson.

Wilson topped the Republican side with $517,000, or less than half of Udall’s take, while Pearce raised just $426,000; or slightly more than one third of Udall’s fundraising number.  

Pearce reported spending $433,000 in the first quarter and ended with slightly more than $850,000 cash on hand.  In other words, Pearce had a negative cash flow in the first quarter of 2008 despite raising more money than he did in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Udall has $2.6 million in the bank, half a million dollars more than Wilson has raised total in the campaign.  

VA-05 Perriello Outraises Goode for Third Straight Quarter

Tom Perriello continued his impressive fundraising in rural Virginia last quarter, raising over $340,000 last quarter and now with over $500k Cash on Hand. With this support, Perriello has now been made a top-tier race against the bigoted Virgil Goode by the DCCC.

What is even more impressive is how his money comes from individuals from the entire district (the size of New Jersey), whereas much of Goode’s money comes from PAC’s and corporate lobbyists.

When Perriello initially announced his fundraising numbers, Goode campaign manager Tucker Watkins said that “Goode didn’t try to raise a lot of funds in 2007 because it was an off year for federal elections” and “It’s nothing to brag about that he did better than Virgil in 2007.”

Well Goode has certainly been trying in 2008, but he has failed again to match Perriello’s numbers. That’s despite almost $113,000 coming from PAC’s from DC, TX, NC, MD, CA and other special interests.

The full press release follows:

The first quarter fundraising reports just filed with the Federal Election Commission showed that Democratic challenger Tom Perriello has outraised incumbent Rep. Virgil Goode for the third straight quarter in the race for the fifth congressional district. Based on Perriello’s record-breaking support from across the district, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee recently added the race to its list of national target races.

“I am really inspired that so many people across the district have made it possible for us to match up against someone who has been doing politics for so many years and has raised over $1.5 million from corporate lobbyists. This year is our best chance to reclaim politics for the people of this district instead of the powerful interests entrenched in Washington,” said Perriello.

In the first quarter of 2008, the Perriello campaign raised more support from inside the district than Congressman Goode raised in all of 2007. Perriello raised over $340,000 in the first quarter of 2008, with 98% of donations coming from individuals. Rep. Goode has raised over $1.5 million from corporate and DC lobbyists during his congressional career, including over $100,000 from oil, gas, and electric utility interest groups.

“People from every corner of the Fifth district are responding to our focus on right and wrong instead of right and left. People clearly want new leaders who care more about fixing problems than finding someone to blame for them. We need jobs for Southside, healthcare for all, and a sustainable solution in Iraq,” said Perriello.

With seven months until Election Day, the Perriello campaign has already raised more than any previous Democratic challenger to Rep. Goode. The campaign has raised over $600,000 and reports over $500,000 cash on hand. Along with its record-breaking fundraising, the Perriello campaign has logged over 1600 volunteer hours. Mr. Perriello has been on the road for the past two weeks, meeting with voters from 14 different counties and municipalities. The campaign has opened offices in Franklin County, Danville, and Charlottesville.

PA-05: McCracken for Congress — Progress Report — 4/16/08

6 Counties in 1 Week:

Monday — Tioga County:   I started out the week with a day long visit to Tioga County with the day’s agenda coordinated by Emily Rizzo.  Emily took me around to several communities in Tioga County including Wellsboro, which included a visit to the Tioga County Courthouse to meet the elected officials, and to Mansfield where we stopped to meet with the staff at the Obama headquarters.  I found Tioga County to be one of the most scenic counties, not only in the 5th district, but in the entire state.

The day ended with a candidate forum that was attended by 10 of the 12 candidates (the 2 missing candidates had people stand in for them) for the 5th district seat.  For the first time at one of these multi-candidate events, I drew the 12th position so I had to sit and wait as every other candidate did their 10 minute presentations.   Here is what the Elmira Star Gazette wrote about my presentation:

“After sitting silent for two hours, Democrat Mark McCracken, a Clearfield County commissioner, finally got his turn to speak.   He said the nation’s $9.4 trillion debt was tragic and that his priority would be getting the federal budget back in order.   “We’re in a deeper hole than we have ever been in before,” he said.    “This is a threat to our national security.   Foreign interests could pull the rug out from under us at any time.”

“Congress also needs to address energy costs and supplies…We missed a wake-up call in the ’70s,” he said. “We really need to get an energy plan in place. We need to be looking at alternate energy sources.    This is our second wake-up call. We’d better take it.”

Tuesday — Clarion County:   Tuesday evening, Kelly and I made the trip to Clarion County for the Spring Democratic Banquet.  Like Democrats all over the region, the folks in Clarion are excited about our party’s prospects for 2008.



Wednesday — Elk and Mifflin Counties:  Wednesday morning brought a trip to St.Marys for a candidate forum in front of members of the Allegheny Hardwoods Utilization Group AHUG.  The members of AHUG quizzed 11 of the 12 candidates on where we stood in regards to the lumber and timber business that is so important to the economy in north central Pennsylvania.

Wednesday evening brought a trip to Lewistown to appear at a candidate forum sponsored by the Mifflin County Farm Bureau.  It was decided that the 3 Democratic candidates would have our own portion of the forum since the Republican candidates would be arriving later due to party event also being held in Lewistown.

Thursday — Clearfield County:   The DuBois Democratic Committee sponsored a forum for the 3 Democratic candidates at the Penn State DuBois Campus.  PCN was on hand to record the forum which they will run several times over the next few days.  



I have to congratulate the people who put the event together.  It was a unique format which included the standard Q & A, followed by a 1 on 1 session with a moderator, then questions from the audience and ended with 5 minute closing statements from each candidate.  The format was different from any event we’ve participated in thus far and was a good challenge for me personally and I think for the other 2 candidates as well.

Friday — Centre County:  Friday evening Kelly and I traveled to the Tussey Mountain Lodge to attend the Centre County Democrats Spring Banquet.  This event turned into a celebration of the extraordinary gains in voter registration the Democratic party has made in central Pennsylvania.  Centre County led the way with the excitement for Sen. Obama’s candidacy leading to a huge wave of young people registering Democratic.  But, the excitement doesn’t end in Centre County as my home county of Clearfield and Rick Vilello’s home county of Clinton also turned “BLUE”!   Hmmm, with everything going the Democratic way, maybe a Democrat can win the 5th district after all.

Saturday — Clearfield County: I spent the day working on behalf of the Obama campaign doing some door to door canvassing at the invitation of Jody Grumblatt.  Jody has been putting her heart and soul into campaigning on behalf of Sen. Obama.  She was even out on the Clearfield Courthouse Plaza on a cold day a few weeks back registering voters.

Sunday — Clearfield County:  Kelly, Amanda and I went to the DuBois Democratic Committee spaghetti dinner.  Many campaigns were on hand for this well attended annual event.  



Auditor General Jack Wagner was the main speaker with Jay Paterno on hand to speak for the Obama campaign.    Rick Vilello and I each spoke to the crowd to make our case for votes on April 22nd.

Maybe the Wrong McCracken in on the Ballot:  Kelly had a very lucky week.    She won 4 tickets to a Pirate baseball game at the Clarion County Dinner and really cleaned up at the spaghetti dinner in DuBois winning 2 gift baskets.  



Amanda was really excited with the one gift basket that had a porcelain doll that she really liked.

We’re heading into the last full week of the primary campaign and there are a lot of miles left to travel.    Please be sure to remind your family and friends to vote on April 22nd.  Of course, a mention to vote for the 5th district candidate listed in the #1 position on the ballot would be appreciated.

Mark B. McCracken

Your Candidate for Congress

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This diary is cross-posted at McCracken’s campaign blog, PA’s Blue Fifth

Mark McCracken for Congress

ActBlue page

AK-AL: Don Young’s Cash-on-Hand Continues to Wither Away

Crumb-bum Don Young just posted his first quarter fundraising report, and the numbers aren’t pretty for the embattled incumbent Republican.

In the first three months of 2008, Young raised $131,575 — a sum that wasn’t nearly enough to meet his net expenditures of $443,238.  His once-burgeoning cash-on-hand is now sitting at $604,268.  Will Young have the resources he needs to fend off very competitive primary and general election challenges?

Young’s tab included a long list of legal fees, including $212,752 paid to Akin Gump, $1100 to Holmes Weddle, $24,520 to Tobin O’Connor, and $15,020 to John W. Wolfe.  That’s a lot of scrilla, especially when you consider that Young began 2007 with $1.86 million cash-on-hand, a number that has dwindled in large part due to legal fees such as these.

NY-13: Fossella (R) trails in cash on hand

Tom Wrobleski is reporting in the Staten Island Advance that despite Rep. Fossella having the strongest quarter he is now trailing Domenic Recchia in Cash on Hand. All the candidates had rather sad first quarter fund raising efforts.  Last quarter’s number in parenthesis;

Q1

Fossella (R): $148,641 ($304,453)

Harrison (D): $43,878 ($69,230)

Recchia (D): $129,690 ($220,770)

COH

Fossella: $248,496 ($250,501)

Harrison: $91,131 ($83,116)

Recchia: $325,175 ($206,451)

If this is true, FEC filings are not up yet, Fossella will have already blown all the money he raised this quarter and finish with less cash on hand than he had at the end of 2007, $250,501. While this is good news that Fossella is behind in cash, there is a late primary in September and Harrison is clearly the progressive favorite in this race having racked up the only endorsements thus far from various political clubs as well as PDA nationally.

LA-06, MS-01: DCCC Drops Da Bomb

Aw yeah.  The DCCC just posted two more independent expenditures tonight.

First up, LA-06:  $2K on field organizing, $22K on direct mail, and $104K on a media buy opposing GOP loser Woody Jenkins.  This brings the DCCC’s total bill in the district to $279,547.  In total, the NRCC has spent $110,194 on defending this seat (not counting the money spent by Freedom’s Watch here).

Next, the DCCC made a big splash in the MS-01 special election, spending $126,576 on producing and airing an ad attacking GOP candidate Greg Davis.  Earlier today, the NRCC posted a $62,000 expenditure against Democrat Travis Childers in this R+10 district.  The GOP wouldn’t be wasting precious cash here if they didn’t think there was a chance that Davis could lose this seat.

MS-01 special election: 4/22; runoff: 5/13.

LA-06 special election: 5/3.

Kratovil nearly equal Cash on Hand in MD-01

Despite being out raised significantly in the first quarter, Frank Kratovil is nearly equal in cash on hand to his Republican opponent Andy Harris. Harris likely raised and then squandered most of the money due to the fact that he had a competitive primary (Gilchrest) but nonetheless it was a bit surprising to us Marylanders that they were so close. Especially considering Harris had much more money on hand than Wayne Gilchrest and E.J. Pipkin for much of the primary.

http://www.politickermd.com/ed…

The article is wrong, Kratovil only has 170k cash on hand, it was corrected later today

MS-01: NRCC Dumps Cash Against Childers

How badly is the cash-strapped NRCC sweating the open seat race in Mississippi’s 1st congressional district?  Enough to drop $62,000 against the Democratic nominee, Travis Childers.

The expenditures include a $30K media buy and $16K on direct mail, and come on the heels of a direct expenditure for Childers by the DCCC over the weekend.  A copy of the ad attacking Childers is viewable here.

It seems that the GOP can’t take anything for granted these days — even R+10 seats like this one that wouldn’t have been seriously in play earlier in the decade.